Do you find the whole continuing education maze a bit confusing? Are you wondering whether you need to need to fulfill continuing education requirements to maintain your LMSW or LCSW license?
Figuring out your continuing education (CE) requirements can be a bit puzzling, particularly because the answer varies according to your jurisdiction.
Association of Social Work Boards‘ Rules
According to the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), nearly every jurisdiction that issues social work licenses requires continuing education courses for renewal. However, the requirements vary from one state to another from the number of continuing education (CE) hours required to the type of courses that must be taken.
To find out the CE requirements for your jurisdiction in the United States and Canada, check them out at ASWB here.
For example, I live in New York and according to the ASWB, there are no CE requirements. However, if I lived/worked in New Jersey, I would need to complete a minimum of 20 credits and at least 10 out of the 20 credits must be directly related to clinical practice.
The Association of Social Work Board’s ACE (Approved Continuing Education) program has a list of Approved Providers . If you have any question about whether your board will accept a particular CE program, make sure to seek clarification from the board before taking the course.
To ensure your ability to get proper credit for fulfilling your CE requirements for your licensing board, make sure you receive a signed certificate of completion for the program you participated in, as well as a detailed description of the program (including syllabus, outline and bibliography as applicable). Please check to see any special requirements needed for your jurisdiction here.
Ethical Considerations
Aside from the (potential) licensing requirement for CE, there are also ethical considerations for social workers to take into account.
According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics:
“The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human wellbeing and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.”
Furthermore, the mission of the social work profession is rooted in the following set of core values:
- service
- social justice
- dignity and worth of the person
- importance of human relationships
- integrity
- competence.
As you can see, competence is one of the core values for social workers. The ethical principle supporting this value is that social workers practice within their areas of competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise.
In addition, according to NASW’s code of ethics 4.01 section (b)
“Social workers should strive to become and remain proficient in professional practice and the performance of professional functions. Social workers should critically examine and keep current with emerging knowledge relevant to social work. Social workers should routinely review the professional literature and participate in continuing education relevant to social work practice and social work ethics.”
Professional Growth
Last but not least, you may want to take additional courses for your own professional growth – irrespective of whether you need CE credits for your jurisdiction.
In my case, for instance, I don’t have the CE requirement because it’s not mandated for New York. Nevertheless, I have quite a list of various courses that I want to take so that I have a nice toolkit of methodologies and techniques to be able to apply with my clients. I also love learning 🙂
What are your thoughts about continuing education requirements? If you work for an agency, how does your employer support your interest/requirements for continuing education? What do you feel are the most important skills or knowledge clinical social workers need to have/build in today’s times?
Sources:
The Association of Social Work Board (ASWB) at www.aswb.org
National Association of Social Workers (NASW) at www.naswdc.org/pubs/code/code.asp
Image: NASW Lunchtime Series
I fully support the idea of mandatory continuing education for social workers (as well as every other professional). Here’s why: 1. There’s nothing better for your day-to-day practice than to get excited about a new idea or an old idea that you have been reminded of. 2. Over the course of your career the knowledge and skills you acquired in your MSW program will go from new and cutting edge to obsolete.
For example, I received my MSW in 1996. Here are some of the treatments or concepts that were not established enough to be included in my MSW education (1994 – 1996): Trauma theory, Motivational Interviewing, Emotion-Focused therapy, Gottman’s work on couples, the internet (yes, the internet)… I was lucky enough to go to an excellent MSW program (UT-Austin). One of my professors, Cynthia Franklin, was up to date on the “newest” postmodern theories (Solution-Focused Therapy and Narrative Therapy) and taught them to us. Otherwise, I might have completely missed out on them because they were new. “Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends” was published just 4 years before I started my MSW program and most of the SFT literature was just starting to come out. When I graduated do you know what everyone was talking about? EMDR. It was the next BIG THING that was going to change the world.
You don’t know what will be important in 10 years. You don’t know what research will be published, what concepts will make a difference in your client’s lives. You WILL get very comfortable doing what you do.
One way to make sure you’re getting actual continuing education, and not just meeting licensure requirements, is to decide what you want to learn about this year and select your CE programs accordingly. If you want to know more about military social work because you’re seeing more community dwelling veterans in your agency, then decide “this year I will take CE programs – online or in person – that deal with military social work.” It turns the whole CE drudgery into your own personal post-graduate training program.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that many CEU programs are crap. Licensing boards authorize people and organizations as CEU providers, but they don’t vet the content. As long as a program has an educational description and three learning objectives that are reasonable and consistent with the title and description, and you pay your money, then you’ll be able to provide CEUs. But, if you decide you want to learn about subject X, then you’re more likely to vet the courses yourself so that you’re really getting what you want out of your CEU program.
The last thing I’ll say is that podcasts like mine (The Social Work Podcast) and UB’s Living Proof Podcast can be GREAT ways to learn about information. But we’re not CE providers. At the moment there is too much administrative headache to offer CEUs for the episodes because they were not designed to be CE programs. That said, the quality and quantity of online CE program is increasing every year. There is NO REASON why a social worker can’t put together an excellent year-long plan for continuing education these days.
Best regards,
Jonathan
Thanks so much, Jonathan, for your very detailed and thoughtful gems of advice!
The list of developments that have occurred in the mental health field since you have graduated with your MSW is striking.
Your illustration serves as an important warning to all mental health providers. One must continually stay abreast of the developments in mental health and update one’s skills to avoid falling behind or worse, being rendered obsolete.
With regard to the pursuit of CE, you suggest focusing on one topic per year so as to immerse yourself in whatever subject you’re choosing to increase your knowledge. This is valuable guidance – to aim for a more intensive, in-depth training that will give you more vs. several short versions of assorted subjects that give you very little.
With much appreciation and best regards,
Dorlee
Hi Dorlee,
What a great topic!
I had the opportunity to give a CE program at University Buffalo last year, and I was impressed with the amount of time, energy and money that their Continuing Ed Program puts in given that there isn’t a mandate for social workers to take things. John’s point is well taken, and so it was especially nice to see the dedication of both the folks at Buffalo and the students that took the course.
Licensure varies state by state. For example in MA you are eligible to sit for your license to practice independently 2 years after you graduate if you’ve worked in an agency and been supervised during that time. This means that people in Albany have to wait 2-3 years longer than the people who live just 40 miles east of them.
My point here in part is that having CE requirements are one of the only ways we have to try to provide some balance of quality in education across the profession after people have graduated. In MA you get CEs both for learning and teaching courses, so there is incentive for people to do both.
I think that the goal of competence includes that of being a lifelong learner. Just because your state or agency doesn’t ask or pay for you to get continuing education doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen. Personally I think CE should be both a requirement and that agencies should provide some reimbursement as well. It seems like a pretty basic investment in their human resources.
When I work with consultees, I suggest that continuing education goals should be in their business plan, and money for it be in their operating budget. It is an essential component of running a successful practice, both in terms of ongoing professional development but also networking with others. In fact, I really can’t see a good reason why one shouldn’t regularly engage in CE coursework. Social work school is so crammed with required courses, so isn’t it nice to know you can take electives for the rest of your professional life through CE?
Hi Mike,
Thanks so much for sharing some of your valuable experience and expertise on continuing education!
Yes, the University of Buffalo’s School of Social Work does have an impressive Continuing Education program. In fact, I am planning to take their online evidence-based practice class this year.
I totally agree with you that agencies should provide some reimbursement for continuing education. Regretfully, I don’t think this is typically the case.
For example, at my hospital placement last year, social workers not only had to pay for any outside CE but also had to use their own vacation days for this time.
How interesting to hear that in some states, teaching may earn one CE credits as well. Also, as I’m thinking about what you are saying about CE requirements being only one component of one’s post-graduate education, I’m reminded about the importance of seeking good supervision (as you have discussed in at least one post) and how much that piece adds to one’s growth and development as a therapist.
To lifelong learning!
With much appreciation and best regards,
Dorlee
Hi Dorlee,
The point Jonathan makes about learning new therapy methods and techniques is very important. An important part of being a competent therapist is keeping abreast of new developments in the field. There is more and more emphasis on evidence-based practice, so your plan to take the UBSSW online course in it is great!
Unfortunately, many therapists only take continuing education in what they are already familiar and comfortable with and don’t learn about new findings in attachment, affect regulation, and interpersonal neurobiology, or about experiential and mind-body approaches to therapy that take these new findings into consideration.
The longer I do this work, the more I realize how much I still have left to learn. It is a never-ending process of updating knowledge and incorporating it into our practice.
I love your enthusiasm for learning new things and your generosity in sharing what you learn with us. I look forward to hearing what you learn about evidence-based practice when you take the class.
Warmly,
Andrea
Hi Andrea,
Thanks so much for sharing some of the topics that you feel are important for clinical social workers to be studying to keep up-to-date.
You mentioned evidence-based practice, as well as experiential and mind-body approaches to therapy that take into account new findings in attachment, affect regulation, and interpersonal neurobiology.
I’m wondering what types of therapy take into account the new findings you mention? Do these include EMDR and DBT and/or are there others?
Also, thanks so much for your kind words…I love learning and it is my pleasure to share some of the knowledge that I gain 🙂
Warmly,
Dorlee
Hi Dorlee,
Some of the therapies that take into account new findings in affective neuroscience include: EMDR, Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, and Attachment Focused Family Therapy. A book that describes the theoretical underpinnings and several of these therapies is The Healing Power of Emotion: Affective Neuroscience, Development & Clinical Practice, edited by Diana Fosha, Daniel Siegel, and Marion Solomon. I highly recommend it.
Warmly,
Andrea
Thanks, Andrea – some of these are totally new to me and had not been covered/mentioned in school…
I am most grateful for you having provided this list of modalities and recommending a great resource to use to learn about them!
Warmly,
Dorlee
Great post, Dorlee, about an important topic. And some really informative comments.
New York State, where I live and work, is one of the few states that doesn’t require continuing education for social workers. So in our region, many professionals have found that not only do some agencies not pay for their training, they require that they take vacation days in order to attend training. And then at the other end of the spectrum, we have other agencies that really value continuing education and invest in their employees through funding their professional development. Interestingly, my impression is that these latter agencies have lower staff turnover rates.
Like Jonathan, when I think back on where the field was when I received my MSW it’s staggering to me how many things have changed. I tell students that achieving an MSW is the start of your education, not the culmination. To be really effective in practice you need to not only attend continuing education and read, but ultimately you need to study something in depth. This means attending more than a one day workshop on something, but pursuing a topic over many sessions, and ideally obtaining consultation from specialists.
As to whether or not continuing education is optional or an obligation, I give social workers and other human services professionals this scenario:
“You develop a serious illness and go to see a specialist. Would you want to see a specialist who hadn’t attended any continuing education in the last few years (or since receiving their degree)? My guess is the answer is no. So why would we expect our clients to settle for less than having a professional who is up-to-date in her/his profession?”
In other words, I see continuing education as a professional obligation, regardless of whether or not state licensing boards require it, and regardless of whether or not agencies pay for it. It’s part of being an ethical, competent professional.
Thanks so much, Nancy, for sharing your wisdom and expertise on this important topic.
As you so clearly illustrated, continued education is a lifelong necessity for all mental health professionals.
One question I am wondering about is what subjects/modalities would you consider to be the current/hot topics for clinical social workers to be focusing on over the next 5 years or so…
With much appreciation,
Dorlee